NEWS
Indiana University School of Nursing
Honors Three Alumnae: Whitt, Ward and Mitchell
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The awards were bestowed on Saturday, May 21, at the annual alumni luncheon, which took place during the School of Nursing Alumni Weekend. The reunion weekend was held May 20–21 on the IUPUI campus. Terri Whitt received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Established in 1974, the award is presented annually to an outstanding alumna or alumnus of IU School of Nursing, who is nationally or internationally recognized for significant professional and/or academic contributions to the field of nursing and/or health care. She is a professor of nursing at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif. Whitt has also taught at Boromarajonani College, a four-year nursing school in Udonthani, Thailand. Whitt is the creator and coordinator of Assisted Learning For All, a nursing procedures Website that includes podcasting for visual and auditory learners. ALFA reviews the entire span of nursing. The site provides nursing students and registered nurses with immediate nursing procedures via laptop, desktop, or iPod/iPhone technology in a concise and free environment. She has developed nursing outreach and education programs in Belize, Ethiopia, Honduras, and Thailand. Whitt has also taken medical equipment to many third-world countries, including Nepal and Belize. In her community, she organized a service-learning project where students from nursing programs in Orange County (Calif.) community colleges work with the homeless. Whitt has earned a bachelor of science in nursing at Indiana University in 1970, followed by a master of nursing in 1975 from UCLA and a doctorate of education in 1985 from Nova Southeastern University. Jan Ward received the Excellence in Nursing Award. Presented annually since 1990 to an alumna or alumnus of the IU School of Nursing, the award recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to the clinical practice of nursing. Ward is director of Lifelong Learning at the IU School of Nursing in Indianapolis, a position she has held since 1999. She oversees all of the school’s professional certificate programs, web-based courses, and conferences and institutes. Ward has served on the editorial board for the Journal of Nurses in Staff Development and the steering committees of the National Nursing Staff Development Organization and the Indiana Nursing Staff Development Organization. She has earned three degrees from the IU School of Nursing — bachelor of science in nursing in 1966, clinical specialist degree in primary healthcare in 1978, and master of nursing in 1979. Barbara S. Mitchell received the Special Recognition Award. Since 1978, the award has been presented annually to either an individual or group who has provided significant contributions of time, energy, and aid to the growth and development of the IU School of Nursing, and/or its Alumni Association. Mitchell was executive director of Nursing 2000 Inc. in Indianapolis from 1992 to 2010. Nursing 2000 is a not-for-profit organization that promotes and supports careers in registered nursing. Mitchell was accountable for operations of the organization, including strategic planning, program development, and fiscal management. She led the organization in reaching $1 million in cumulative scholarship proceeds for undergraduate and graduate nursing scholarships. Previously, Mitchell was staff development coordinator at the IU Medical Center in Indianapolis. From 1969 to 1975, she worked as a staff nurse at several hospitals. She has served on the board of directors for the Central Indiana Organization of Nurse Executives, Nursing 200 North, and Spotlight on Nursing, as well as vice president of the Indiana Nursing Workforce Development Coalition. Mitchell has earned two IU degrees — master of education in 1980 and master of nursing in 1987 — and a bachelor of science in nursing from Mary Manse College in Toledo, Ohio, in 1974. The IU School of Nursing Alumni Association is a constituent group of the IU Alumni Association. The IUAA is dedicated to serving the university and its diverse alumni, students, and friends through its programs. For more information, contact Danny Kibble at 317-274-2289 or djkibble [at] iupui [dot] edu . |
